Chris Rock Presents “How Not To Get Your A** Kicked By The Police.” (Video Here)

First let me say this:

There is no excuse for the police to verbally harass or physically assault innocent black youth (or anyone for that matter). And the use of excessive force against criminal suspects should not be tolerated either.

But this video parodies something that I have said for years. Anytime a policeman pulls a car over or in anyway interacts with a criminal suspect, it is already a highly charged situation. DON’T MAKE MATTERS WORSE!

WARNING: THIS SKIT IS PG-13 AND CONTAINS SOME FOUL LANGUAGE

(Video Here)

Is it possible that the policeman pulled you over for no reason? Yes.

Do you have rights against illegal detention and unreasonable search and seizure? Yes.

But yelling at; cursing at; being belligerent with or ignoring the instructions of an individual who is armed and who’s primary concern at the moment is walking away from this confrontation with his/her life does not help the situation. It will only serve to put the officer more on edge.

If you believe that you are being treated unfairly, be polite and do as the officer directs you to do. But make sure to get his badge number so that at a later time you can file a complaint with the police department.

Don’t just go to the NAACP. You see, if you only file a complaint with them, it will not trigger an official investigation. And while some chapters of the NAACP do have exceptional follow through on these issues, many do not. The best thing to do is to file complaints with both.

Folks, we have spent so much of our time telling our black youth about their rights when dealing with the police that we have forgotten to share with them how to RESPONSIBLY exercise those rights in a way that will first- protect their lives and secondly- protect their civil liberties.